Delaware Coalition for Injury Prevention
Violent Injury * - Prevention Team

Team Leader:

Captain John R. Evans, Delaware State Police

Member Agencies:

Beebe Medical Center, ContactLifeline, Delaware State Police, Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, Kent County Department of Public Safety, Emergency Medical Services Division, Sussex County Emergency Medical Services, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, People’s Place II, Inc., Wilmington Hospital.

Key Objective:

Identify at-risk communities through data analysis and community feedback. Provide a positive impact on residents’ decision-making behaviors regarding assault, firearms, and homicide.

Key 2008 Project Name:

“Helping a Village Protect its Children” - the 19802 Community Project.

Brief Project Description:

Networking identified specific communities where residents were interested in learning more about injury and violence prevention. Within the 19802 zip code of New Castle County, the team educated residents about the dynamics of violence, firearms and the importance of gun locks, and provided general safety information. The Delaware Coalition for Injury Prevention and the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council (DVCC) participated in a health fair at the Kingswood Community Center, in the 19802 area. The Coalition for Injury Prevention distributed gun safety information and gun locks; the DVCC provided information on prevention of domestic violence. Feedback from health fair attendees identified the need and interest in decreasing violence in their community. In response to that need, the Coalition for Injury Prevention, the DVCC, and ContactLifeline partnered with Kingswood Community Center to hold a two-day ‘train the trainer’ event, Promoting Safe and Stable Families, for residents of the 19802 community. Program assistance was provided through a mini-grant from the Jewish Family Services of Delaware, Office of Prevention and Early Intervention.

Project Outcome:

1. At Kingswood’s Health Fair, about 50 gun locks were distributed to adult residents with instruction on their proper use. Information on gun and home safety was also distributed.
2. Beebe Medical Center staff participated in a Cape Henlopen school district ninth grade Health and Safety Fair where 76 students signed the Student Pledge Against Gun Violence.
3. Fifteen 19802 community leaders from Project Stay Free completed the ‘train the trainer’ Promoting Safe and Stable Families program, learning about the dynamics of violence, the impact of domestic violence on children, and the resources available to victims and their families in the 19802 community. Program graduates have provided resources and presentations to 23 individuals in Project Stay Free’s parenting group and become involved in a new group, Men Against Abuse. Male parents from these groups have begun to exchange information on domestic violence and sexual assault awareness.
4. In 2009 similar activities will be offered to communities in Sussex County’s 19933 zip code.

* Violent Injury - Assault, Firearm, and Homicide

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